Letting Go
by Alexithymea
Summary: Sequel to Passing Through. After leaving the compound, Daryl finds that keeping everyone happy is impossible. But at this point, there is only one person other than himself that he really wants to make happy. And if that means leaving the group, then it might just have to happen. But when a new threat emerges, can Daryl and Nichole go back?
1. Thinking It Over

"_Who's worse after the apocalypse? The walkers? Or the people we live with now?"_

_-Nichole Archer_

-oOo-

"We are not having this discussion again," Rick said, calmly, rationally, despite the fact that he was the one who was starting the argument that would eventually cause Daryl to blow up.

"If you keep telling me what to do, we will have this conversation, and you won't be winning this time," Daryl stated, his voice raising, causing his accent to become a little more pronounced. "If you think anywhere in that brain of yours that _I'm_ going to back down on this, you're stupider than I gave you credit for."

The expression on Rick's face was somewhere in between incredulous anger and righteous indignation. Daryl could have laughed at the idiocy of all this.

"Then you can leave with them! I'm not endangering my wife and child because you picked up some strays!"

"Who are helping more than either your wife or child are." Daryl stood from where he was sitting outside his tent. On the inside, one of the people they were arguing about was sleeping, having exhausted herself helping Lori through the issues she was having. "And would your wife still even be able to do anything if not for Nichole?"

Rick shook his head. "We have Hershel. We don't need another doctor."

"Hershel? He couldn't do it! He already said he wasn't any good at human babies."

An angry sigh came from Rick and Daryl knew that this time he won once more. "Fine. She can stay another day. But if something happens, you're on your own."

"Like that's anything new," Daryl said, taking a step forward. "I'm on my own either way."

Rick turned and headed back towards his own small campsite. With that problem solved for the moment, Daryl sat down again and went back to sorting through his arrows to find the ones he could hunt with and the ones that could only be used on walkers. Since Nichole's brother Alex had taken to hunting with him, Daryl's main job was to take down any stray walkers. With both of them, it took half the time to get enough meat for the group compared to before.

Added to that, Nichole was extremely resourceful when it came to edible plants. She knew how to test things without killing anyone, and that got added to what they already had. As the others had quickly learned, her abilities to supplement their diets had created a much happier and less hungry group.

But along with that also came the danger of a larger group. Which Rick brought up at least every two days. Daryl was becoming sick of the arguments and it meant that every time he spent at least an hour thinking about the wisdom of taking Nichole and splitting from the group. Alex could step into his place easily enough, and the group would be at the same number.

It always came down to the reasons he had to stay. Nichole did not want to leave her brother, and Daryl knew that if he left, Carol would lose her final real friend here as well. Glenn would inevitably follow, and Maggie would come along. The group would splinter and people would get hurt. Daryl had been injured enough to not want to be in that position again. Especially after being shot again so recently.

Daryl set his arrows aside and leaned his bow across the log next to the tent. Standing and slipping inside, he kicked his boots off before crawling across the tent floor towards the pile of sleeping bags where Nichole was laying. Her long dark hair was curled around her face and body, unbraided from the severe way she wore it in the day. Pale skin looked lighter in the dark, and he could tell how tired she was by the dark circles under her closed eyes.

She had lost some weight since leaving the compound where they had first met. That was inevitable. Nichole still retained her same shape, but she was wearing a size smaller in her clothes. One of Daryl's belts now served to keep her looser pants on, and some scavenged shirts served well enough. Right now, she was wearing a long t-shirt and a pair of tight shorts, her blanket tossed aside and her long legs tangled in the cloth underneath her.

A smile quirked at the corner of Daryl's lips as he crept forward. Completely silent, he slid in next to her, wrapping his arms firmly around her waist. His own personal bed warmer let out a small noise and slid a little closer to him, rolling in her sleep so she could bury her face in his shoulder. It was something she did often, seeking out comfort despite how warm she was.

Over the past week, this had become a regular occurrence. And Daryl would not change it. It brought him a great deal of pleasure to come back to camp to someone who was so excited to see him walk through the perimeter again. She spent her day giving her all to the group, but once he returned, she was completely devoted to making sure he was comfortable and uninjured.

This was a wonderful thing he never expected to have, even before the world went to shit. Between watching out for Merle and trying to etch out a living, he never had much time for women. Not enough to keep someone interested, anyway. Not that it mattered anymore. Most of the women he would have chosen were now dead or undead. The kind of woman he tended towards in those days was a shallow, thin, low intelligence type. Nichole was not shallow, had actual curves, and was one of the smartest people he had ever met. And those facts made her so much more attractive to him than any of the girls he had been with before.

Pulling her closer, he saw her headphones in a tangled mess next to her. Daryl reached over and picked up the music player cell phone, turning it off to conserve battery, and tucked it in the nearest bag for her later. It was these little things that they did for one another that made it easier for both. Never having someone caring to look after him like this before, Daryl did not take it for granted. Merle had his back, but never had reason to see to his day to day comfort. Nichole did it without expecting anything in return and was always surprised when he did something for her.

After the first two days of doing little things for her, Daryl had realized that where she had lived before she was taken advantage of. And he made it his personal mission to make sure that never happened again. Making sure that the others respected her was less difficult than he thought it would have been. Only Rick still questioned her presence while the others made it clear how welcome she was.

Then of course was the ongoing joke among T-dog and Carol that this girl had tamed the wild Daryl Dixon. What they failed to realize was that now Daryl had something to fight for, he was that much more dangerous. The only other time he had given this much to something was back when he was practically leading a one man search for Carol's daughter. That particular effort led ultimately to him being shot. There was no question that Daryl would kill anyone who threatened Nichole at all, and bullets were the least of his worries.

With Rick's constant threats to ban Nichole and Alex from the group, of course it raised Daryl's protective nature ten fold. If necessary, he would voluntarily leave them behind and take his bike with Nichole. They could live easier without so many others to look after.

She shifted again, her hand snagging on his shirt as if she was having a bad dream, which given the last few weeks was probably true. In her mind was the image of death, something that in her normal life she had only seen in a sterile environment after it already happened. Never up close, never had to do it herself.

Without any hesitation, Daryl put his hand over hers, holding it tightly until her clenching stopped. Only then did he pull the thin blanket over them both and lay his head down to sleep.

If he had tomorrow to prove to Rick how wrong he was, he needed all the rest he could get. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.


	2. Leaving Camp

"_In the head. Anything else just leaves them squirming."_

_-Daryl Dixon_

-oOo-

Camp was already packed and ready to go. Nichole stretched, the soreness that had seemed to settle into her joints over time causing them to pop, first her shoulders as she reached up to the sky, then her knees as her legs straightened. A step forward caused her hips to pop, and her elbows when she reached down for her bag. Sleeping on a pile of blankets for days had caused some damage to her body, but it would all heal.

When she took another step forward, her bad knee, the left leg that also had a healing wound on it, gave out and nearly sent her crashing to the ground. Hands grabbed both of her arms from behind and held her up until she could get her balance again, and Nick turned her head so she could give Daryl a grateful smile.

"Still not healed up," he commented, helping her to stand. "For a doctor, you're a horrible patient."

"Yeah, well, with half of the people here out of commission with injuries, others need to pick up the slack." Nichole managed to take another step without sending herself headlong into the dirt. Considering that progress, she allowed herself to lean slightly on Daryl as she moved towards where the rest were tearing down their portion of camp and packing up. Staying just off the road as they were, it took a little time to get the cars moving again.

Daryl took her bag from her and threw it over his own shoulder, wrapping an arm around her waist to both hold her close and keep her steady. "You ain't one of those others you're speaking of." His expression said clearly what he was trying to say. "Overworking yourself ain't gonna win you any friends."

"Won me you, didn't it?" she responded with a quick grin.

"But I ain't exactly your _friend_, no am I?"

His self assured grin brought back some of her early morning good humor. They were both self motivators, therefore both morning people. And Nichole knew better than anyone that morning people could be counted on to start the day right.

The sound of arguing voices ahead brought Nick's attention back to where they were headed. Rick was standing in the middle of the camp, Hershel in front of him, and T-dog to the side. They seemed to be arguing over fuel by the sounds of it, and Nick blinked, looking over at Daryl as he stopped just outside the ring of tents.

"We can't go any further until we refuel," Hershel said. "We have just enough to send one car ahead to find something."

"I don't want to split the group up again." Rick's stance changed as he crossed his arms, staring down the other men. "Either we all go or no one goes."

"Or Daryl goes," Daryl said suddenly, chiming up. "I can take my bike, scout ahead. Leave you all with enough fuel to do whatever if I don't come back."

This earned him a narrow eyed look from Rick. Nichole took a small step closer to Daryl, not liking where this looked to be going. "Fine. Go see if you can't find something. But you're taking someone with you. I'd prefer Glenn."

Nichole felt more than saw Daryl shake his head. "No. I go alone or not at all."

"This isn't up for debate," Rick said, his voice taking on a commanding tone that Daryl would only ignore.

"You're right, it ain't."

Stepping away from Nichole, Daryl passed her the bag and went over to his bike, taking off before anyone could argue and leaving Nichole standing there in. She let out a sigh and watched as the rest went back to packing.

Except Lori, who was walking towards her instead. The woman had the look of intensity that told Nichole she was about to get some sort of lecture about something. Whatever the older woman had to say held no interest to Nick, and she just turned to go sit with her and Daryl's things. Lori would follow, and then the confrontation could occur.

Sure enough, no sooner had Nichole sat down to finish packing the tent then Lori stood over her, not offering to help.

"I talked to Hershel this morning. He says the pains I'm having are normal for this early in my pregnancy."

Nichole let her eyes go up from where she was rolling the tarps to where Lori was standing, hands on hips and blocking the sun with her head. It took some strength to resist the urge to roll her eyes at the way Lori was trying to loom over her.

"Pains are normal. But not where you're having them. It could be another underlying issue that I won't know without proper medical gear. If we come across a hospital or even an EMT station, I can tell you for sure."

"If your boyfriend even brings back any fuel," she replied with a level of sarcasm Nichole could only attribute to pregnancy hormones.

"Better than your do nothing husband," Nick muttered, going back to rolling the tent. "He sends everyone else to do things and stays behind to protect people who are already protected." She knew she should not be baiting Lori like this, but sometimes she could not stands bullies and those who thought themselves superior. This was one of those times.

"If you don't want his protection, then you can just leave!" Lori shouted, drawing attention from some of the others, including Rick. When the cop started towards them, Nick just finished rolling the tent and shoved it into the bag, tying it to the back of her own bag which was thrown over her shoulder.

"Okay I will. You've been trying to drive me out since I joined, and now you got it. Good luck when you miscarry. Hope you don't bleed _too_ much."

Nichole grabbed her bow and quiver, missing the look of relief Rick gave Lori, and the sudden look of horror on Lori's face. She would have stomped out of camp had her brother not stepped in front of her, holding up both hands.

"Nick, wait-"

"You aren't going with me or going to stop me," Nichole stated calmly. "Stay with them. At least I'll know you are mostly safe."

She walked around her brother and continued towards the road. With the heavy bag, she was walking slowly, and with her leg injury, she was stumbling every other step, but soon enough she made it to the road and started walking.

Her name echoed behind her as the others called for her to stop, but she just kept going. Nichole was pissed enough not to care if Lori was being hormonal or not. Between Rick constantly questioning her motives and the others making comments about her choice of companions, Nick was more than ready to leave.

She heard someone following through the woods, trying to catch up. The only person who would do that was Alex, and Nichole did not want him following. But there was no stopping him at this point.

Now, hiking down the highway, she realized how stupid this decision actually was. But then, she was a scholar. Street survival was not high on her priority lists. Nor was common sense. It was hard enough to make it in a camp this size when everyone assumed they knew everything about her. She was now a camp of one. Possibly two if Daryl decided to follow and try to find her.

She just hoped she was found by him before she made it too far or collapse from exhaustion. Even if Alex was following, she would be walker bait just lying on the road. Nichole's legs burned from even this short hike carrying the things she had. Her limping became more pronounced, and from a distance she would resemble a stocky undead shambling onward.

A block of uneven concrete tripped her up and sent her to the ground. Nichole managed to catch herself before her head bounced off the pavement, but not before she heard the grunting noise from a car across the median.

The walker came around the vehicle and started running right for her. Reaching for her bow, Nick realized that she had dropped it when she had fallen and it was now lying five feet away. Scrambling across the pavement, she tried to grab for it and and an arrow, but deep in her mind, she knew she would never get there on time.

**A/N:** Mwahaha. I spent this long finishing the plot so I could write it straight through, then the first chapter I get done is a cliff hanger. But you know I love you all. ^_^


	3. Protective Nature

"_Nothing matters right now other than life. We can't expect them to understand."_

_-Nichole Archer_

-oOo-

The arrow embedded in the walker's skull just before it reached where Nichole was scrambling, sending bits of blood and viscera flying as the arrow ripped through the flesh and rotting bone. Daryl lowered his bow again and ran over, skidding to a halt and kneeling low so he could reload and rip the arrow out of the head, readying it for the next shot if there had to be one. By this time, the woman next to him had grabbed her bow and had an arrow on the string, aiming in the other direction while still on her knees.

Only when it was clear that there were no more walkers did Daryl straightened up, holding his crossbow in one hand as he grabbed Nichole's forearm and hauled her to her feet. Daryl's mind had a thousand questions, but the most obvious came out first.

"What the hell are you _doing_ out here?"

Nick winced away at his tone, looking down at the ground, and Daryl took a deep breath, trying to calm his angry reaction. She did not need to be yelled at after that scare. Not giving it a second thought, he pulled her into his arms, holding her to his chest and running a hand against her hair, stopping at where her braid started.

His hand ran into the stuffed bag on her back. He had not noticed it before, mainly concerned on making sure she did not get bitten. Now, however, Daryl knew instantly why she was walking away from camp.

"How long have you been walking?" he asked between clenched teeth, still holding her.

"About two hours," Nichole responded, her voice muffled by his shirt.

The frustrated anger hit Daryl like a train. There was only one reason why Nichole would be walking that long, this far, without anyone with her. Rick must have finally made his decision and enforced it. Without Daryl in camp. But he waited to make his move until the only person Nichole trusted who was part of the group was gone.

Daryl wanted to kill Rick.

He instantly wanted to go get his bike and ride back to the camp, but there was no way he was leaving Nichole here and he was uncertain whether bringing her back with him was a good idea. There was only one real choice Daryl could make and that involved bringing her back to where his bike was parked among the lot of cars he was siphoning from.

"Come on," he said gruffly, taking her arms and walking behind her. Since she fell, he knew her legs were going to be worse than they were earlier. Plus her walk probably did not do her any good.

And Daryl was right. The moment she started forward, her left leg gave out and nearly sent her down again. But his arms kept her from falling, and he stopped her, pulling the bag free from her arms and putting it on his own back. Walking while keeping another steady was not an easy task, and Daryl found himself taking much smaller steps than he normally would. He was tempted to just carry her, but he needed a chance to grab for his bow if they ran into something. This was quite possibly the worse place for this to have happened.

Daryl's bike was almost a quarter mile up the road, and they both stayed silent during the long walk to it. Nichole moved stiffly, sorely. Keeping a careful eye on her movements, Daryl felt this overwhelming protectiveness surge through him that he was not expecting. Her difficulties made him want to put her somewhere safe, and there was nowhere safer he could think of than right in front of him.

The amazing part was that he could just look into her eyes and feel his world shift. Daryl Dixon was not soft by any means, but this one woman brought out the strangest emotions in him. More than anyone he had ever met before.

Placing her on the bike behind him, her arms wrapped around his waist, cheek pressed to his back, Daryl started back in the direction of the camp. He would have abandoned the bag, but she had an unnatural attachment to that computer she insisted on dragging about. As if it was a sort of lifeline. And he would not begrudge her the connection to her old life.

Something in the way she gripped around him told him she was in a great deal of pain. Every time he had to turn towards the left to avoid something, her arms clenched harder. Daryl's anger simmered just under the surface. He was determined not to let her see too much.

The sound of a car coming up made him slow a bit. He recognized it as the car Glenn drove most often. Three people were inside, and Daryl pulled up alongside the driver's side as Glenn rolled the window down.

"You can't go back," Glenn said as he leaned out the window.

Alex popped up from the backseat and in over the middle console. "Rick threw us out too. Because we tried to get Nichole back. Glenn went all badass and stole the fuel and the one running car."

Maggie playfully pushed Alex by the forehead back into the backseat. "Stole isn't the right word for it, kid. We took what was ours."

"And Hershel just let you go?" Daryl asked, trying to keep his voice level.

"He didn't have a choice. He's staying with Lori and Beth."

Daryl turned slightly and glanced at Nichole, who was pale and looked purely exhausted. Gesturing for Glenn to get out of the car and help him, together they got her into the backseat next to Alex. This seemed much worse than just the soreness of the walk and falling. Daryl knelt down and strapped her into the seat, checking her face as he did.

"She don't look so good," Maggie said from the front, leaning around her seat so she could watch what was happening.

"Don't I know that?" Daryl snapped back. He placed the back of his hand over her forehead and felt the fever. "Shit."

Daryl started running his hands over her body, much to Alex's apparent dismay. He checked her arms first, moving to her stomach and torso, until he finally felt along her legs. The only bloody patch was where her wound had reopened, and Daryl sat back on his heel, sighing in relief.

"She's running a fever, but not bitten." He looked up at Maggie. "Got any of those doxycycline pills left?"

The young woman turned back and tore open the glove box, taking out the bag that held Merle's stash in it. She took out the bottle and tossed it to Daryl, who opened it and pulled out one. Alex reached to grab one of the bottles of water and handed it to Daryl as well.

"Come on, Nick, you need to take this," he said gently, drawing a look from Glenn, who was still standing outside the car as Daryl was taking up the entire door and driver's side. Putting the bottle in her hand, he placed the pill in her lips and Nichole bit down on it, chewing the tablet instead of drinking the water.

"Ugh. That's gotta taste nasty," Glenn muttered behind him.

"Releases the medicine faster," Nichole practically whispered as she let her head fall back against the seat.

Daryl stood and turned to Glenn, looking the Asian in the eye. "Keep behind me. And none of those crazy Chinaman driving tricks. I have some fuel up ahead. We need to find a place to stay and lay low for a while."

Glenn only nodded and moved around Daryl, climbing into the car and closing the door. Daryl slung his leg over the bike and started down the road, faster than he normally would. He needed to find a somewhere safe for Nichole, that was his first task.

His second would come later. Eventually, he needed to hunt down that son of a bitch Rick and have words. Few words, and a little action. He wanted to beat the shit out of the cop, wipe that smug look right off his face. Rick thought himself in charge. After this, Daryl was no longer willing to support him.


	4. Once Bitten

"_I don't know about any of this cure stuff, but I do know that killing anything will cure it of whatever it has."_

_-Daryl Dixon_

-oOo-

She was floating. It was dark, and she was floating somewhere in between here and there. Time did not exist, light did not exist. The heat was stifling, though. She was burning. An all consuming fire running through her veins. Nothing could stop it from turning her to ash.

Then something icy touched her head and Nichole's eyes opened. She was in the tent, blankets tucked around her, Daryl kneeling on one side, Maggie on the other.

"I've never seen anything this bad," Maggie said, her voice quiet.

Daryl's eyes went from Nick's face to Maggie's. "Last time I saw someone like this, they was on the verge of turning."

Maggie's frown was focused on Nichole as she leaned a bit closer. "You're the doctor. What's going on with you that we don't know?"

Nichole moved to sit up, aided by Daryl, who slid behind her. She leaned comfortably against his chest, watching Maggie, who shifted in front of her. She was not certain how much to tell Maggie, since she already knew why she was running so high a fever. Despite ample time to do so, her leg wound had not been cleaned or cared for.

And her immune system was going nuts over it because it was already in overdrive.

"That's a long story, but you do need to know." Nichole glanced back at Daryl, an apologetic expression on her face. "I should have told you already. My testing found that we are all already infected, so I was hunting for a cure. You knew that much. What I didn't tell you, what's on my computer, why I'm always protecting that thing, is that I found a prototype cure for the virus in living specimens."

"And?" Daryl prompted. She could see in his face that he knew there was more coming. There was an anger simmering in his eyes.

"Robert, that guy back at the compound, made me test it on a living subject." She shuddered, remembering those days of arguing and trying to find a volunteer. But no one wanted it, and if she did not use it, Robert had threatened to inject Alex. "I...he wanted to force someone to try it. But I'm the scientist. I'm the one who was doing the research."

"And you were the one who got injected," Maggie finished. Nichole looked back at her.

"It was either me or my brother. I wasn't going to even ask Alex to try some experimental drug." Rubbing unconsciously at the spot in her arm where the injection had occurred, Nick half turned back to Daryl. "The drug is a mutated strain of the original virus, dead, and completely harmless. The point of it is to force your immune system to produce strain specific t cells and natural killer cells." Neither fully understood, and Nichole broke it down. "Basically, your body would produce an immune response specifically for the virus. But since it was so dangerous, I chose to have myself be the test subject. Then, if it was deadly, I wouldn't be responsible for someone else dying." Her eyes fell to the pile of blankets she was sitting on. "They all thought it had failed and my research was at an end. I did too. Until three days ago."

Daryl's question was whispered into her ear. "What happened three days ago?"

Despite being comfortable against Daryl's chest, Nichole stiffened up slightly. "It all actually started about three weeks ago. Alex cut himself pretty bad and I gave him a blood transfusion. My own blood, of course. I didn't think anything of it since we thought the cure was a failure." She closed her eyes tightly against that particular memory. Of seeing her brother so pale in a bed like that. "But I failed to take into account that it would still be in my blood. And it was transferred to him."

Maggie put a hand on her knee, drawing Nichole's attention back to her. "Three days ago, that was when we ran into that group of walkers, right?"

Nick gave a small nod, her mind trying to find the right way to say it. "Alex had one on top of him, and I saw it happen. Just below his collar bone, he was bitten."

Everyone grew silent. She could feel them staring at her like she had just morphed into some sort of three headed dog. It did not surprise her that Daryl reached for his crossbow or that Maggie quickly touched the gun next to her.

"But he ain't got a fever," Daryl injected. "It would have happened by now."

"I know," Nick said. "The symptoms of infection have not surfaced. It's as if...as if he's immune to being bitten. He's not even showing signs of turning." That he had survived past the day of the attack amazed Nichole, who had treated the bite away from the rest. She did not want someone putting a bullet in Alex's head because they thought he was infected. Nichole was determined to protect her baby brother from that. "I'm absolutely certain that the cure worked. It stopped the infection from spreading, keeping him from turning into one of those creatures."

The implications of this fact would be huge. Nichole could see the gears turning in Maggie's head and heard and felt Daryl's quickened breathing. They should have never found out this way.

"So what's that got to do with you now?" Daryl asked, his arms tightening around her waist.

"My immune system is fighting one infection," Nichole explained in a quick breath. "So the second, my leg, is causing it to go into overdrive. Which is why I have a fever, why my leg hasn't healed yet." Taking a deep breath, Nichole settled to wait for the inevitable backlash the truth would create.

But it never came. Daryl just hugged her closer while Maggie started on cleaning the infected area, neither saying anything. She had figured at least there would be some disappointed remarks, something about how she should have said something sooner. Daryl seemed to just accept that she had not known. Maggie was intent upon the task at hand.

Daryl was not one to let things like this go, though. He would confront Alex, probably while she was asleep, and Alex would have to tell the truth, show them the healing bite mark. While Nichole did her best to protect her brother, she could not protect him from the very person she trusted the most besides Alex. Daryl would never do anything to purposefully hurt her. Not since that first moment they met and he had called her a stupid bitch. Since then, he had done everything in his power to make up for that remark and see to her safety.

The sunlight dappling on the tent's ceiling drew Nichole's attention. She watched as the light chased itself around the translucent material, the shapes of leaves playing out overhead. Nichole would just have to relax and trust Daryl to do the right thing where her brother was concerned. Unless Alex turned into a walker within the next day, she had high hopes that this cure in her blood had worked.

And if it worked for Alex, maybe she could remake it and put it into everyone else. If they were immune to the disease, then chances of survival went up tenfold. But that would have to wait until she found a place to start manufacturing the anti-virus again. Nichole did not trust the transfusion to work again, even if someone did share her blood type.

As of now, she was comfortable in the knowledge that once her body started healing, she could find a place to do her work, to finish it. So long as nothing else horrible happened. If she was eaten, even the anti-virus would not help.

Daryl slid out from behind her, laying her gently on the blankets that were piled up. He kissed her forehead lightly and slunk backwards from the tent, slipping his boots on as he went. Maggie left soon after, having bandaged Nichole's leg as best she could.

So Nichole drifted back to sleep with the full knowledge that the shit was about the hit the fan. And she had no idea how right she was.

**A/N:** So I just realized that between this and my other accounts on other sites, I write nearly six thousand words every time I decide to do a chapter, because I do a chapter for all of my stories. That's INSANITY! Especially since I have a full time job. XD


	5. Running Again

"_If you try to do everything, then nothing will ever get accomplished."_

_-Nichole Archer_

-oOo-

Daryl stalked from the tent, an angry expression on his face, his eyes narrowed on his first objective. Alex was stacking up small branches around the perimeter they had set up, determined to get some sort of early warning up and active.

"You really need that early warning?" Daryl shot at the boy, walking up and grabbing his shoulder so he could bodily turn him around to face him. The hunter did not hesitate on lifting his shirt up to the collar bone. The bite mark was healing, but was a bruised purple still. "Fuck!"

Alex yanked himself free from Daryl's grip, straightening his shirt back over his chest. "You already knew what you were looking for, you could have asked!"

"Ask? You're fucking immune to those things and you want me to _ask_?" Daryl felt his need to break something growing. "When the hell were you going to tell _anyone_?"

The kid's face fell and Daryl would have felt bad for yelling at him like this were it not for the fact that he was right. They should have been told about this at least. Or that Alex had been exposed.

"I thought...I didn't want a bullet through my head." Alex's voice shook as he tried to back out of Daryl's reach, giving a nervous glance towards the tent they had set up for Nichole.

Daryl took a deep breath and allowed Nick's brother to retreat. Instead of following him, he picked up his crossbow and added a few arrows to his belt, jumping the low perimeter and heading out into the woods to hunt and think.

This was a bombshell of incredible proportions. That Nichole and Alex were both possibly immune to walker bites was something unheard of. They could still be eaten, of course, but they would not turn because of fever.

And that lent a whole new dimension to the reasons Daryl needed to keep her safe. The beginnings of a cure sat in her blood. He knew people would kill to get their hands on that and the person who was responsible for creating it. Some had tried to kill him already to keep it, but Daryl Dixon did not lie down without damn good reason, and as far as he was concerned, there was never reason to give up someone he cared so much about.

That was really the main issue he was having. What did he feel for her? He knew that he needed her presence more than ever needed anything in his life. There was nothing more important than making sure she was safe, protected, alive.

Was he in love with her? Daryl knew he loved her, but was he in love? Having never experienced that emotion, he found it hard to tell the difference. But one thing was certain, his heart was irrevocably attached to her. There was no working around that, where she went, he was bound to follow.

Merle would have called him a sissy girl for falling in for a scientist of any sort, even one immune to walker bites. His older brother would have some words about him settling down with one girl when there were others to chose from as well. Not that there was the plethora like before the outbreak, but he was sure Merle would find girls wherever he went. The man was pretty indiscriminate when it came to his bed partners.

Daryl thought it was a good thing to have consistency in his routine, to find one person he could give his all to and say to hell with the rest of the world. It was ruined anyway, but now he actually had something to live for, to fight for. She gave his life real meaning that just being part of the group never had. Made him want to strive for better than he was, better than what he had done before.

A noise from ahead of him, breaking branches and the sound of metal on metal brought Daryl's crossbow higher. He placed the arrow in it, eyes sweeping the trees as he stalked forward. He was an expert tracker, and he could hear whatever was in front of him moving closer, almost not bothering to muffle the noise made. It was either a walker, a large animal, or a really stupid person.

At the sound of someone talking, Daryl figured on the really stupid person option. But someone else responded, and he hurried forward, silent and hidden by the trees. Whoever it was used rather militaristic language, and that made the hunter nervous.

During the initial outbreak, the military had attempted to help, but then they had turned on everyone, trying to protect themselves at all costs. They had even gone as far as killing innocent civilians in the streets. Daryl knew firsthand how demented most people had become.

Creeping closer, he saw the tents and the campfire. Three men were sitting around the fire, talking about where they were and how far it was until they reached the state line.

"We just get the girl and head back, right?" one asked. Daryl knelt down low and moved a bit closer so he could hear better.

"Vick, how many times have we been over this? They don't give two shits about the girl. Just her work." The man who answered, obviously their leader, stood and kicked a log back onto the fire. "Fucking newbies. No idea why he sent you lot with me. I would have been there by now and already headed back."

"Sorry captain," a little female said, giving the other man, Vick, a boot to the leg. "Vickers has yet to learn not to question things."

"I'm gonna go do some scouting. You two useless piles of shit stay here and _try_ not to get killed."

The older man stalked off in the opposite direction, and Daryl crept backwards, away from there camp. As much as he hated having to do this, he needed to get the others and get the hell out of here. There were still people back with the main group who needed to be warned that these guys were about. And there was no telling how many similar companies were nearby as well.

Daryl sped back to the camp, trying to stay quiet while still traveling quickly. He burst through the trees and right through the brush early warning. Glenn came out, machete in hand, but stopped when he saw Daryl.

"What the hell?"

"Start packing!" Daryl said loudly. "Get everyone back to the road, back in the car. We need to go back and find Rick."

"What? Why?"

Pointing back towards the woods, Daryl stopped at the front of the tent. "Back there. Army or some shit. We need to leave."

Glenn nodded at that point and started gathering things that had been put out. Daryl ripped the tent open and poked his head in, looking at Maggie and Nichole, one who was sitting awake, the other out cold.

"Get everything packed up. I'll take her to the car." Daryl did not take his boots off this time as he went and gathered Nick in his arms, holding her close to his chest as she went limp. "We're out of here as soon as things are packed."

Letting them get the packing underway, Daryl started towards where the cars were parked. He held Nichole close, keeping her from being jostled too much. Her legs were folded over one arm, his other was under her shoulders, and her head was pressed against his chest. Every step he took brought him closer to the realization that he would willingly give his life to protect this precious burden in his arms. Nothing and no one could make him walk away.

He was desperately and totally hooked on her. In love with her. And she loved him as far as he could tell. Daryl made a mental note to ask her later, when she was not so feverish. In the meantime, he needed to get her somewhere safe. Again.

This was getting too far out of hand for him. And he wanted to take her and hide out in the woods. But that could not happen right then. With all his skills and even apparent hardness, he could not turn his back on those people even if they had done that to him. Daryl was so much better than they were. Even if his life right then was not the greatest.

Even if his life had taken a crap dive right to hellish.


End file.
